Nerd in Another City

This week’s playlist is full of songs you’d expect to be on the list like “Part of Your World,” “Under the Sea,” and of course “Kiss the Girl,” but you’ll also see a little Hunchback of Notre Dame on the list, some Pirates of the Caribbean and basically any song I could get my hands on that was about water, the ocean,  kissing and the Sea. Enjoy this music as you swim your way to better health this week!

1. Hoist the Colours – Hans Zimmer
2. Fathoms Below – The Little Mermaid Broadway Cast
3. Water – Pentatonix
4. The Ocean and the Sea – Wilderado
5. Daughters of Triton – The Little Mermaid
6. Part of Your World – Jodi Benson
7. Out There – The Hunchback of Notre Dame
8. Under the Sea – Samuel E. Wright
9. Poor Unfortunate Souls – Pat Carroll
10. Evil Woman – Electric Light Orchestra
11. Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) – Billy Ocean
12. Nightswimming – R.E.M.
13. Seaside – The Kooks
14. Jump in the Pool – Friendly Fires
15. By the Sea – Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter
16. Beaches – Moon Taxi
17. One Step Closer – The Little Mermaid Broadway Cast
18. Tenerife Sea – Ed Sheeran
19. Rowing Song – Patty Griffin
20. Rock the Boat – Aaliyah
21. Kiss the Girl – Samuel E. Wright
22. Kiss Me Slowly – Parachute
23. Every Teardrop is a Waterfall – Coldplay
24. Lost! – Coldplay
25. Swim Until You Can’t See Land – Frightened Rabbit
26. New Love – Gavin DeGraw
27. We Found Love – Rihanna, Calvin Harris
28. Marry Me – Train

Here’s a selection of movies to watch that will keep you swimming…

The Little Mermaid

Obviously the movie that features this week’s Disney Princess is first up on the watch list. But as I’ve mentioned before, she is not my favorite Disney Princess by a long shot. Still, I do consider this a Disney classic from early Disney heydays. And the music comes in higher on my favorites list than Ariel herself. If you haven’t watched it in a long time, give it a look with grown up eyes. It’s tough to justify her falling in love at first sight, abandoning her God given body and family and making a deal with a sea witch to lose her voice for mere days in the presence of the man she loves. I guess I’ve gotten a little more cynical as I’ve grown up, but I just can’t give Ariel a pass on this one.

Splash

SPLASH!! Classic 80’s movie right here featuring Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks. This is the mermaid movie that beats all mermaid movies in my mind! A young boy (Tom Hanks) almost drowns off the coast of Cape Cod and is rescued by a mermaid. That boy grows up and is reunited with the mermaid who saved him as a kid, but she’s all grown up and has shiny new legs. He falls in love with her, blissfully unaware of the secret she keeps about her true origins. When an eccentric scientist (Eugene Levy) outs Madison to her one true love and to the rest of the city of New York, Allen (Hanks) will race to save her from the people who will experiment on her and treat her life a lab rat. Will she choose to remain on land or return to the sea where she belongs?

Aquamarine

This mermaid movie is a fluffy, pink, teeny bopper romp that is pure fun and frivolity. Don’t look deeper than the surface. It’s cheesy and adorable, just accept! Chock full of the kind of fish out of water hijinks that includes, not being able to walk correctly with brand new human legs, falling down a lot, reacting inappropriately to normal human situations and phrases like “There’s something fishy about that girl.” My one small beef with the frothy comedy is that Aquamarine sets her sights on the boy of Emma Roberts’ dreams which breaks all kinds of Girl Codes. Just give that fish a different love interest, that’s all I’m saying!

Hook

Another classic that deserves it’s place on all kinds of lists and makes this one due to the very limited use of mermaids and the fantastical nature of Neverland. Hook is a retelling of the beloved J.M. Barrie story Peter Pan. Only this time Peter (Robin Williams) is a middle aged lawyer who was left in the land of men and has forgotten who he truly is. When he ends up in Neverland to save his children from the evil clutches of the maniacal and strangely humorous Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman) the Lost Boys will teach him who he truly is before he can have a chance to bring his family back. And…there are mermaids in one scene! 🙂

Peter Pan

Same goes for the classic Disney animated version of Peter Pan. There are mermaids in Neverland so I used that as an excuse to put it on the list this week. This version is a faithful adaptation of the classic story. Peter meets Wendy, John and Michael. He brings them to Neverland. We meet the Lost Boys and Tiger Lily. Captain Hook is bad and there is a ticking crock who is looking for some Hook meat. It’s fun, it’s classic and oh yeah…occasional mermaid sightings!

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Look, I’m not saying this is the best of the Pirates’ movies. I’m not even saying it’s a very good movie. Jack Sparrow works best when he is helping the Turner Family (Pirates 5 is far more enjoyable!) What I’m saying is that mermaid tears are a necessary ingredient when in pursuit of the Fountain of Youth. And that is just what everyone is searching for in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Jack Sparrow, Captain Barbossa and the dreaded Blackbeard are all in a race to drink from the cup that gives eternal youth along with the British Empire and the Spanish Armada. First…mermaid tears and a scene depicting mermaids as truly scary creatures from the deep. They sing you pretty songs, entice you to the edge of your boat and then drag you to a watery grave. Except for Syrena (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey), the mermaid that falls in love with the young cleric (Sam Caflin) who happens to be along for the ride. Not a great movie, but there are only so many mermaid films to work with here.

Blue Crush

Which brings us to a decidedly un-mermaidy movie. Blue Crush has a special place in my heart. It came out when I was in college and fervently dreamed of running away to Hawaii and becoming a surfer girl. Ocean…strong, athletic females….love story…it works for Little Mermaid week and is still a stronger love story than The Little Mermaid’s! (Come @ me!) I still dream of being a surfer one day because of this movie, but it certainly is dated in the early 00’s and if you are coming to it with fresh eyes, don’t get too excited about it’s quality. You have been warned!

Do you have any movies you feel should make the list for Ariel Week? Let me know!